Ask Jo Malone: How to bring a speech to life and connect with an audience

Small business agony aunt Jo Malone on how to connect with an audience and leave them with something they'll always remember.

Dear Jo

I’m going to make my first-ever public speech to a group of entrepreneurs in a few weeks’ time.

I plan to tell them about my story and then my key philosophies for business.

How do you tend to prepare for these events?

I remember the first time I gave a public speech. I shook like a leaf, my mind went blank and I dropped all my notes. As I watched all the pages flutter to the floor, I made a mental note to memorise each speech from that moment on.

Preparation is vital and the more you practise, the better-versed and more confident you’ll become. You know your story so much better than anyone else, and the key to a successful speech is to grab people’s attention and make your points as interesting and relevant as possible.

Think about ways of bringing your story to life, whether that’s using PowerPoint, film, props, music or even food — be creative and deliver a format that’s unexpected.

Try to establish an emotional connection by making your audience laugh or cry, and give examples of inspiring stories within your subject field.

Remember that the beginning part of your business journey is always fascinating, so highlight key moments and refer to them throughout.

And don’t shy away from sharing your business failures and weak spots — you’ll be surprised how much people will identify with you.

Think of it as telling a story rather than giving a speech, and try not to read from a script — the danger is that you’ll become void of emotion and the audience won’t connect or listen. Instead, have a few cards in front of you that contain key words and prompts or, as I do, pictures — you’ll find that they keep you on track.